Design Research
What is not Design Research
Simply learning about what the customer wants is not design research. Rather, it is part of the conversation between the designer and the client. That conversation is important, but there is much more to research.
Design Research at the fundamental level is a structured approach to the act of designing. The research process helps to define and unpack critical areas in design ranging from the design problem to the literature review that will follow onto data collection, analysis and sense making.
What is Design Research
The physicist and philosopher Mario Bunge offers a reasonable definition. For Bunge (1999: 251), research is the “methodical search for knowledge. Original research tackles new problems or checks previous findings. Rigorous research is the mark of science, technology, and the ‘living’ branches of the humanities.”
At the elementary level, much of what a designer does involves answers and solutions to questions and problems. However, without proper research (research methods, comparative research methodology, and philosophy of science), most designers can come out with solutions but are ill-equipped to answer those questions responsibly.
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